T4America Explores American Voters’ Transportation Preferences – Future of Transportation A National Survey (2010)

Posted by transportgooru on March 30, 2010 in Automotives, Economy, Energy, Environment, Finance, Governance, Highways, ITS/Telematics, Infrastructure, Opinion Columns, Pedestrian & Bicycles, Public Policy, Rail, Society/Social Issues, Transit

Today, I came across a tweet from someone that talked about T4America’s latest national poll results that said majority Americans support increased access to public transportation and safe walking and biking. As a curious mind would do it, I went on to explore the survey results and the press release issued by T4America and here is the summary of what I saw: American voters overwhelmingly support broader access to public transportation and safe walking and biking, according to this new national poll conducted for Transportation for America. This must be a ton of good news for pro-transit & bike-ped folks, especially given all the activities that are happening on the next transportation re-authorization bill. My favorite finding of this survey: 79% of rural folks support improved public transportation. Now, who would have expected that from our American voters!

Tags: Future of Transportation A National Survey (2010), Gas Tax, Public Transportation Bike and Pedestrian, T4America, Transit, Transportation Allocation, Transportation for America, Transportation Funding

American road traffic fatalities fall to record low since 1950s; Alarming Numbers of Road Traffic Deaths Around The World Remains A Concern

Posted by transportgooru on March 11, 2010 in Automotives, Education, Governance, Highways, Infrastructure, Law Enforcement/Legal, Motorcycles & Scooters, Opinion Columns, Pedestrian & Bicycles, Public Policy, Research, Society/Social Issues, Travel

Quoting the numbers from the NHTSA estimate for 2009 motor vehicle traffic fatalities, the Secretary of the US Department of Transportation, Ray LaHood says that he is extremely encouraged by the significant drop in fatalities but at the same time he still is disturbed by the fact that “we are still talking about nearly 34,000 preventable deaths a year. There are still too many people dying in traffic accidents every year. Just too many.”

Tags: 2009 Early Estimates of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities, Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA, Road Safety, Road Traffic Fatalities, Sec. Ray LaHood, Traffic Accidents, UN Road Safety Collaboration, Vehicle Crashes

Graphical depiction of the Sen. Jim Bunning Catastrophe for Transportation

Posted by transportgooru on March 1, 2010 in Economy, Finance, Governance, Highways, Infrastructure, Opinion Columns, Public Policy, Society/Social Issues, Travel

LAST July Jim Bunning, a former Major League pitcher, realized he was too wildly unpopular in the state of Kentucky to win re-election to the Senate, so he decided to retire.
On his way out, he figured he’d make sure people had something to remember him by. Last Friday, Mr Bunning extended a one-man procedural gambit that has blocked approval of an emergency extension of unemployment benefits, making it nearly certain that Americans who are out of work will stop receiving their payments on Sunday.
Mr Bunning insists that funding measures (presumably, given his political leanings, spending cuts) be found to pay for the unemployment benefits. He is not being supported by the Republican leadership.

Tags: Cloture, Emergency Extension of Unemployment benefits, Filibuster, James Bunning, Jim Bunning, Kentucky Senator Bunning, Sen. Jim Bunning

Investigation finds serious air safety violations; Sec. Ray Lahood punches back citing FAA’s strong record

Posted by transportgooru on February 2, 2010 in Aviation, Economy, Governance, Infrastructure, Law Enforcement/Legal, Opinion Columns, Public Policy, Research, Travel

During the past six years, millions of passengers have been on at least 65,000 U.S. airline flights that shouldn’t have taken off because planes weren’t properly maintained, a six-month USA TODAY investigation has found. During the past six years, millions of passengers have been on at least 65,000 U.S. airline flights that shouldn’t have taken off because planes weren’t properly maintained, a six-month USA TODAY investigation has found.

Tags: Aircraft Maintenance, Aviation Maintenance Issues, FAA, Federal Aviation Administration, Safe Skies, Sec. Ray LaHood, USAToday, USDOT

Take that, all you tardy aviators! USDOT slams precedent-setting fines on three airlines responsible for tarmac delays

Posted by transportgooru on November 24, 2009 in Aviation, Economy, Finance, Governance, Law Enforcement/Legal, Opinion Columns, Public Policy, Society/Social Issues, Travel

For the first time, the federal government has fined airlines over a tarmac delay case, hitting three airlines for $175,000 for their bungling last summer that left a regional jet full of passengers stranded overnight in Rochester, Minn.

The Department of Transportation has been taking a tougher stand against airlines on consumer issues, cracking down on airlines that shirk responsibility in lost baggage cases, for example. On Tuesday, DOT fined Continental Airlines, ExpressJet Airlines and Mesaba Airlines, a unit of Delta Air Lines, for the Aug. 8 episode in Rochester.

Tags: Aviation Enforcement Office, Continentaal Express Jet Fines, FAA, Federal Aviation Administration, Mesaba Airline, Passenger's Bill of Rights, Regulation (EC) 261/2004, Secrtary Ray LaHood, Tarmac Delays, USDOT Fines for Tarmac Delays

Do Your Bit to Reverse Climate Change Today! Blog Action Day 2009 – October 15, 2009

Posted by transportgooru on October 15, 2009 in Automotives, Energy, Environment, Governance, Hybrids, Infrastructure, Marine/Waterway, Opinion Columns, Pedestrian & Bicycles, Ports, Public Policy, Rail, Research, Society/Social Issues, Special Events, Transit, Travel

You may ask what difference does it make by simply dropping a blog post on Climate Change? The possibilities are endless. Your one post can inspire someone else to write about this issue. The more people write about, the more people will get to read, and thus we create an awareness about the on going problem. In the cacophony of today’s world, too many people have no time to even stop and think about this very important issue that threatens our very existence on this planet. If your blog can divert the attention of someone – a friend on Facebook, or a random reader from Timbuktu who has subscribed to your blog’s RSS – even for a moment and make them think how they have contributed to this generations effort to save the planet, you have done your bit. Trust me — that’s how we all make a difference in this world – in our own little ways.

Tags: Blog Action Day, climate change, Environment, Environmental Degradation, October 15, Planet Earth, Pollution

TransportGooru Exclusive: The Road Worrier Column by Glenn Havinoviski — Business as Unusual…

Posted by transportgooru on October 9, 2009 in Automotives, Economy, Energy, Environment, Finance, Governance, Highways, ITS/Telematics, Infrastructure, Opinion Columns, Pedestrian & Bicycles, Public Policy, Rail, Research, Society/Social Issues, Tolling/ETC, Transit, Travel

For example, Arlington County has recently sued the Feds and the Commonwealth over the proposed project on I-95/395 to expanding and convert the existing HOV lanes to High-Occupancy Toll lanes, demanding the overturning of the project’s environmental Categorical Exclusion and suspending the project until their objections (notably not enough emphasis on transit, potential harm to air quality, concern about congested interchanges and local roads as a result of the project) were satisfied.

Tags: Congestion Pricing, Glenn Havinoviski, Infrastrcuture Development, Infrastructure Development, ITS, ITS VA, ITS Virginia, Moving Cooler, Newsletter, President Obama, Stimulus, Transportation